NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Christopher Newport University men's basketball team had a season-best performance defensively, holding Averett University (2-16, 0-5) to just 22% from the field on 11 made baskets in the game, as the Captains cruised past the Cougars, 80-42. CNU improves to 10-5 this season, including a 3-1 mark in USA South action.

The Captains got contributions across the board, led by Conley Taylor with 20 points and Jake Capin pouring in 13. Capin's season-high came on 5-of-9 shooting including a trio of three-pointers.

Neither team shot the ball well early and the game was deadlocked at 19 with 5:35 remaining in the first half. The Captains turned it around before the break, though, and closed on a 12-0 run to take the lead at intermission, 31-19. CNU finished out the first stanza at 37.9% shooting while holding Averett to a 24% clip.

CNU forced 14 turnovers in the first 20 minutes as Taylor led the way with a pair of steals. Offensively, the Captains were sharing the ball incredibly well, posting nine assists on 11 made baskets.

The CNU defense continued to play Averett hard early in the second half, extending the Captains run to 38-6 over a span of 14:55. The run put the Captains up by 32 with 9:21 remaining in the game. With the game in hand, the Christopher Newport bench would see a lot of action late in the second half and continued to shoot the ball well.

Alex Granger, a rookie guard, came in off the bench and nailed three 3-pointers for nine points, while grabbing a pair of rebounds. Will Clarkson contributed quality minutes in the front court, hauling in five rebounds and scoring four points.

Averett was led by Justin Pierce, scoring nine points despite a tough shooting night (1-8). He knocked down 7-10 from the free-throw line for the Cougars. Kenny Hart and Nick Ford added seven points each while Marquis Scott finished with six points and a team-high six rebounds.

CNU was led by Taylor's 20 points, and he added five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot; Taylor also added a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe. Senior Mike Green also had 14 points while grabbing a team-high 8 rebounds. Brian Herrmann was all over the glass late, grabbing eight rebounds while contributing five points and three steals.

The Captains finished out the night shooting 43.3% from the field and held the Cougars to just 22% shooting on 11-of-50 shooting. Both the 22% and 11 made field goals were season-lows for a Captains opponent, while CNU also held Averett to just 6.7% shooting from beyond the arc (1-15).

Christopher Newport will now hit the road to play Greensboro on Saturday, January 22 with tip set for 4:00 pm. They will also play Methodist on Sunday at 4:00 pm.